This covers your stall for things like someone getting injured at your stall and third-party property damage e.g. your gazebo knocking down the neighbouring stall.
Portable stock cover
If you have a market stall, portable stock (or contents) insurance will cover your items or food when they are being transported to the market.
What could go wrong at a market stall?
Let's say that you leave a piece of art in the main walkway for a moment and someone trips over it and breaks their ankle. You could be held responsible for the incident due to negligence, and have to pay for their medical costs, and/or the cost of replacing their income while they are unable to work. It may seem unfair, but you still have the responsibility to deal with the consequences if something goes wrong. Most festivals and events won't even allow you to register without first obtaining public liability insurance for your market stall.
Do I need insurance for my stall?
Regardless of whether you’re running a regular stall at your local market or travelling to several markets across the region to build a bigger customer base, you’ll still be exposing yourself to a wide range of potential risks.
Markets can be busy, unpredictable and hazardous places, and unexpected accidents can happen at any time. If something goes wrong and a claim is made against you, the financial consequences of paying any compensation or damages could be substantial. This is why it’s essential to make sure you have the right market stall insurance cover in place before you open for business.
What types of risks to I need to account for with a market stall?
Below are some of the key risks you could face. Insurance may be able to help with some of them, but the more precautions you take the less you have to worry! Here are some tips:
If you're selling products at a market
Licences and permits. Like any business that sells goods to Australian consumers, it's important that you get the correct form of licence or permit to run your stall. These help protect you and the investments you've made.
Ensuring product safety. Whether there's an allergy issue with your newest batch of cupcakes, or safety concerns over your collection of children's toys, it's important that you respond to concerns quickly. You should provide clear instructions for use and include warnings against possible misuse or allergy concerns. It's also necessary for you to be aware of and meet industry and mandatory standards.
Obstructing a footpath . You might need to obtain a footpath usage or obstruction permit from your local council. This permit is designed to protect public safety, so it's essential you have one in case someone gets hurt or injured.
Missing or stolen products . Markets are busy places, and transporting your goods introduces another element of risk. That's why it's worth considering portable stock cover, which covers your items of food when they are in transport to the market.
If you're serving food at a market stall
Temporary food stall licence . Before setting up your stall, make sure you have a temporary food stall licence. It's important you get one, especially if you sell potentially hazardous food like meat or dairy, or you risk being shut down.
Food poisoning/allergies . The food you sell at a market must comply with the Australian Food Standards Code. From rules on cleanliness to labelling, the code makes sure that the food you supply is safe and suitable for consumption. Yet, no matter how much you label your food, accidents can happen, especially at a market, so make sure you get professional indemnity insurance (more on that below).
Getting the right insurance in place can help you manage these risks. In fact, many market organisers require you to get insurance for your stall. It's likely you'll need both public liability and product liability insurance. Market stall insurance is a great way to ensure that your stall is covered properly with both.
Although many market organisers offer insurance as part of the registration fee, you should look into what's covered; it is often very basic and fails to adequately cover you should something go wrong.
What types of insurance do market stalls need?
There are two main types of insurance that market stall operators should consider buying to mitigate their risk:
Most market organisers make it a mandatory requirement for all stall owners to have public liability insurance in place before they'll even be allowed to set up a stall.
What's covered?
This type of insurance helps cover legal and compensation costs when you're found legally liable for personal injury or property damage suffered by someone related to your stall or its operation. Typical limits on policies include $5 million, $10 million, or $20 million, and includes cover for incidents and events you may not even consider like sickness or disease, false arrest and even assault and battery.
Many insurance providers will also offer both public liability and product liability cover under the umbrella of one policy.
Product liability insurance
This type of cover is also usually a mandatory requirement at many markets.
What's covered?
Under Australian consumer law, retailers and distributors of products have a duty of care to their customers. For example, if you sell a product that has been poorly designed, has various defects or improperly labelled, it could cause harm to one of your customers, which product liability can financially cover. If you're selling physical, manufactured products you can't vouch for 100%, you should strongly consider this kind of protection. Product liability insurance is particularly important for any market stall owner who manufactures and sells food or drink products because, under Australian Consumer Law, people who suffer loss or damage due to safety defects in goods they buy are entitled to seek compensation.
Portable stock cover
Most business insurance providers won’t cover theft or damage of your stock while it's actually at your market stall.
What's covered?
If you regularly operate a market stall it’s still a good idea to consider portable stock cover, which covers stock while in storage and while in transit to and from the market.
Available as part of a business insurance policy, portable stock insurance provides cover for fire, theft and a range of other risks. It’s also possible to cover the loss, theft or damage of business money to provide added peace of mind.
How much does market traders public liability insurance cost?
When shopping around for public liability insurance, it pays to compare multiple quotes. However, keep in mind that there are a number of factors that can influence how much your insurance will cost. These include:
The size of your stall/business
What products you sell
Where and when you operate your stall
Your business turnover
How much coverage you take out.
If you regularly run stalls in high-risk locations, you can obviously expect to pay more for cover. In order to work out exactly how much cover your business needs, you'll need to take the time to consider the risks you face on a regular basis and what the consequences would be if those risks were to become reality.
What are some public liability exclusions facing market traders?
Just like with any other type of insurance policy, a number of exclusions apply to public liability cover. These may differ from one insurance provider to the next, but cover will generally not be provided for:
Fines and penalties that are punitive or exemplary
Any loss, damage or liability resulting from acts of war, terrorism, rebellion, revolution or insurrection
Anything to do with radioactive contamination or nuclear material
Any liability you assume under a contract that would otherwise not have applied
Situations where you have waived your rights to recourse without the underwriter’s prior consent
Liability related to the possession or use of a motor vehicle or trailer
Liability relating to the use of aircraft or watercraft
Liability for damage to property you own or are leasing
Any deliberate acts of disregard by you or your employees
Liability for injury to any of your contracted employees
Where your policy includes products liability, your insurer may refuse to pay any claims relating to the sale of things like toys, electronics, medicine or beauty products.
Talk to a broker about market stall insurance
Receive a Quote for Business Insurance
If you are ready to speak with a consultant about different business insurance options available, simply enter your details in the form. Keep reading if you want to learn more about the different types of cover available.
Operating a market stall at a busy festival, event, fair or concert exposes you to a wide range of potential risks. Taking out this type of cover will give you and your business essential financial protection. In fact, many festival and event operators make it mandatory for stallholders to have public liability insurance.
It’s impossible to provide an answer to this question without knowing more about your business. How big is your stall? Where and when do you operate? What products do you sell and what is your turnover? Answering these questions will help you understand your business’ insurance needs.
Obtain quotes from a number of insurance providers to get an idea of how much each policy will cost. Use finder.com.au’s comparison tools to weigh up the pros and cons of competing policies, and read policy documents closely to familiarise yourself with the benefits, limits and exclusions of each policy. An insurance broker can help if you need further assistance.
Market stall insurance itself is not a legal requirement in Australia but most councils market organisers and event managers will insist you have at least public liability cover before they let you trade. If you are selling food or higher risk products they may also require product liability. Check the terms in your stallholder agreement and any council permit conditions as you may be refused a site if you cannot show a certificate of currency.
Usually yes. The organiser’s policy is designed to protect them not individual stallholders. Some organisers offer stallholder cover for an extra fee but the limits can be low and the exclusions broad. If you rely only on their policy you may find there is no cover for your particular products or for incidents that happen while you are setting up or packing down. Having your own policy gives you clearer protection and control over the cover limits.
Yes. Some insurers and brokers offer public liability policies that can be arranged for a single event or a short period such as a day a weekend or a few weeks. This can suit hobbyists or new stallholders who only trade a few times a year. Keep in mind that per‑event cover can sometimes work out more expensive than an annual policy if you attend markets regularly so compare both options.
Not always. Some home based business policies only cover you while you are working from home and exclude any activity at markets expos and pop‑up events. Others will extend to markets but only if they are listed on your policy. If you already have home business or contents cover check the product disclosure statement or call your insurer to confirm whether trading at markets is included before you rely on it.
Many Australian markets ask stallholders to hold at least $10 million in public liability cover although some smaller community events accept $5 million and larger festivals may insist on $20 million. The required amount is usually set out in the stallholder terms and conditions. Even if the organiser requires less you should still think about the worst case scenario for your stall and choose a limit that would realistically cover a serious injury claim.
In many cases yes but not always by default. Public liability policies designed for market traders often cover you for incidents that happen during set up trading hours and pack down. However cover is always subject to the wording of the policy. If you arrive the night before or leave equipment on site between days you may need to confirm whether that extra time is included or whether conditions apply.
Most annual public liability policies for market traders will cover you at multiple locations within Australia as long as what you do and what you sell are the same type of activity listed on your policy. You generally do not have to name each individual market but you must tell your insurer if you start attending much larger or higher risk events than when you first took out the policy.
Some market stall policies will extend to online sales but many are written only for face to face trading at markets fairs and events. If you also sell via your own website or platforms such as Etsy you should tell your insurer up front. They may be able to include online sales under the same public and product liability policy or recommend a separate business package.
Even if you see your stall as a hobby the law does not distinguish between hobby and business when it comes to someone being injured or suffering loss. You can still be sued for negligence. Some community markets will include basic cover in the stall fee for occasional hobbyists but many do not. If you are selling to the public it is sensible to have at least public liability insurance regardless of how often you trade.
No. Public liability insurance is designed to cover third party personal injury and property damage not your own goods. To protect your stock gazebo tables and displays from theft or damage you would typically need contents and portable stock cover as part of a business insurance policy. Some insurers can package this with your liability cover for market trading.
Food poisoning can be covered but usually under product liability which is often bundled with public liability in a single policy. If a customer becomes ill after eating your food and alleges it was contaminated or improperly handled the product liability section may respond to legal and compensation costs. You must still comply with food safety laws and licensing requirements or your claim may be reduced or declined.
Most public liability policies automatically treat authorised volunteers and unpaid helpers as insured for the purposes of third party claims arising from your stall activities. They are usually not covered for their own injuries as workers so you may want to look at personal accident cover or speak with a broker if you regularly rely on volunteers. Always check that helpers are named in the definition of insured person in your policy.
When you buy public liability insurance your insurer will normally issue a certificate of currency. This document shows your business name the type of cover limit of liability and the policy period. Most councils and market organisers will accept this as proof of insurance and may ask for an updated copy each year when you renew. You can usually download it from your insurer or request it through your broker.
Insurers will usually ask for details such as what you sell or make whether you serve food how often and where you trade your estimated annual turnover the size of your stall and whether you have had any past claims. Having this information ready will help you get more accurate quotes and avoid delays with your application.
Generally no. Public liability policies are written for a specific legal entity such as a sole trader partnership company or association. If two separate stallholders try to share one policy there can be problems at claim time because the insurer has only agreed to cover the named insured. Each stallholder should usually have their own policy unless you are formally trading as a partnership or company together.
Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards.
See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross
has written
577
Finder guides across topics including:
Hi. I want to sell some products I have made and purchased at a local country market. Can you help me decipher this insurance info?
Finder
JeniJune 7, 2018Finder
Hi Allison,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Many market organisers require you to insure your stall in case things go wrong. You may need both public and product liability insurance to make sure you’re covered. You might also consider professional indemnity insurance.
– Product liability insurance covers you for any damage or injury caused by a product you sold.
– Public liability insurance protects you against claims for property damage and bodily injury such as a product you’ve sold negligently causing a fire.
– Professional indemnity insurance protects you if your client suffers a loss as a direct result of advice you gave.
Some insurance providers will sell insurance packages specifically for market stall holders (sometimes called ‘Market Trading Insurance’).
If the market you’re intending to sell your goods at offers insurance as a part of the registration fee, make sure you understand exactly what you’re covered for. You may feel more comfortable obtaining your own insurance in addition to the insurance on offer from the market. You should also make sure that your set up and pack down time is included as a part of your insurance package.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
SusanJuly 29, 2015
Hi We are planning a market and are having trouble with people regarding insurance, do people who run charity stalls need insurance? or people who only make a small profit eg. senior person selling knitted items? This is turning people off participating.
thanks,
Sue
Finder
RichardJuly 29, 2015Finder
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your question.
Yes, if you’re running a market you will generally need to have stall insurance. If you would like to speak with a broker about the best options for you, please enter your details into the contact form for a market stall insurance.
Please make sure to read the eligibility criteria, features, and details of the policy, as well as the relevant Product Disclosure Statement of the policy before making a decision and consider whether the product is right for you. If necessary, speak to the insurance brand to verify any details.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
johnNovember 26, 2014
Hi can you tell me who is liable if i trip over some market stall framework, the organiser or the owners of the stalls?
The trader had packed up and gone, It was dark and i didn’t see the metal frame work bars although the canopy was still on the roof and back (no sides)
I tripped over and damaged my clothing. No harm to myself thankfully.
Regards
John
Finder
RichardNovember 28, 2014Finder
Hi John,
Thanks for your question. finder.com.au is an Australian website so the laws and relations may be different here than that in the UK. You would need to contact the event manager to find out who would be liable.
Does your business run events? Public liability insurance is an important step for both one-day and regular events.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
The information provided by Frankie is general in nature and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. Frankie may make mistakes so it's important that you review the information before deciding. By messaging Frankie, you agree to our Terms and have read our Privacy Policy.
Hi. I want to sell some products I have made and purchased at a local country market. Can you help me decipher this insurance info?
Hi Allison,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Many market organisers require you to insure your stall in case things go wrong. You may need both public and product liability insurance to make sure you’re covered. You might also consider professional indemnity insurance.
– Product liability insurance covers you for any damage or injury caused by a product you sold.
– Public liability insurance protects you against claims for property damage and bodily injury such as a product you’ve sold negligently causing a fire.
– Professional indemnity insurance protects you if your client suffers a loss as a direct result of advice you gave.
Some insurance providers will sell insurance packages specifically for market stall holders (sometimes called ‘Market Trading Insurance’).
If the market you’re intending to sell your goods at offers insurance as a part of the registration fee, make sure you understand exactly what you’re covered for. You may feel more comfortable obtaining your own insurance in addition to the insurance on offer from the market. You should also make sure that your set up and pack down time is included as a part of your insurance package.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
Hi We are planning a market and are having trouble with people regarding insurance, do people who run charity stalls need insurance? or people who only make a small profit eg. senior person selling knitted items? This is turning people off participating.
thanks,
Sue
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your question.
Yes, if you’re running a market you will generally need to have stall insurance. If you would like to speak with a broker about the best options for you, please enter your details into the contact form for a market stall insurance.
Please make sure to read the eligibility criteria, features, and details of the policy, as well as the relevant Product Disclosure Statement of the policy before making a decision and consider whether the product is right for you. If necessary, speak to the insurance brand to verify any details.
I hope this was helpful,
Richard
Hi can you tell me who is liable if i trip over some market stall framework, the organiser or the owners of the stalls?
The trader had packed up and gone, It was dark and i didn’t see the metal frame work bars although the canopy was still on the roof and back (no sides)
I tripped over and damaged my clothing. No harm to myself thankfully.
Regards
John
Hi John,
Thanks for your question. finder.com.au is an Australian website so the laws and relations may be different here than that in the UK. You would need to contact the event manager to find out who would be liable.
Thanks,
Richard